BORIS SCRAPS HIS TOUR DE FRANCE Axes bid to sell Brexit deal
BORIS Johnson has ditched plans for a whirlwind tour of Europe this week to sell his new Brexit deal.
Talks between British and EU officials were canned yesterday.
An EU spokesman said: “Member states agreed the UK proposals do not provide a basis for concluding an agreement.”
So instead of face-to-face meetings with foreign leaders such as French president Emmanuel Macron, Mr Johnson will phone from No10 instead.
The move fuels suspicions he is not serious about a deal.
Scotland’s highest court last week heard he will ask the EU for an extension until January 31. But No10 is adamant we will be out by the end of this month.
Parliament will be prorogued on Tuesday in preparation for next Monday’s Queen’s Speech. And THE killer who fatally stabbed a solicitor with a screwdriver in a busy shopping centre is 18 today and can be named.
Ewan Ireland admits killing Peter Duncan, 52, after the dad-of-two let him into the Newcastle mall in August.
Ireland, who had been about to attack another youth, is remanded in custody awaiting sentencing in December.
The teen has 31 convictions, including for battery and threats with a blade, from 2017 to this year.
Until 2015, Ireland played for Newcastle Utd’s academy and was tipped for stardom. One coach said: “He was compared to Gazza, he was incredible. But he had a lot of problems.”
One of Ireland’s neighbours said he was often in trouble with the police and: “This lad deserves everything he has coming to him.” Mr Johnson could be the first PM to have a Queen’s Speech voted down in 95 years.
With this in mind, courtiers want him to delay the State Opening of Parliament until after an election to save needlessly troubling the 93-year-old monarch, according to an insider.
The Westminster source said: “The Palace told No10 the Queen doesn’t want to go through this again. If her speech is going to be voted down anyway then she would rather it didn’t happen. The PM shouldn’t cause her this embarrassment so soon after the Supreme Court debacle.”
Mr Johnson will struggle to get policies through Parliament after throwing out 21 Tory rebels, reducing his Commons standing to minus 43. The only good news for him is that more prominent Remainer Tories back his deal.
Former Deputy PM Damian Green said: “We must grab this opportunity to deliver for the people and get back to focusing on our NHS and schools.”